Workstation posters

This year I am doing Debbie Diller Literacy Workstations.  So in line with my zebra theme I created my own posters.  I made large ones to go around the room where the stations are and small ones for my pocket chart.  Here's a few pictures of them! Head over to TPT to grab yours today.  

 

 

How to make a shower curtain keyboard and play Swat!

Are you in need of a NEW FUN literacy center? 

 A new way to practice spelling words or sight words? 

I have a fun new way to have fun while practicing spelling. 

Here is a step by step way of making a shower curtain keyboard or two! 

You will need four things:

1.plain shower curtain

2.black thick permanent marker

3. Kleenex box for tracing

4. Fly Swatter

 Easy-peasy!

Just get a plain colored shower curtain.  I just grabbed one from Dollar General for a couple of bucks.  Lay it out and cut it in half horizontally.  You can actually make two keyboards out of one curtain.  I cut the end off where the magnets are so they weren't in the way.  Next lay it out on a flat surface. Lay the Kleenex box down on the shower curtain and trace around it.  10 boxes on the top row, 9 in the middle and 7 on the bottom.  I added an ENTER button on the bottom by tracing a bigger square the size of two boxes.  A little tip start tracing on the bottom of the box and go slow around the corners. 

First row done.

 

 

A close up of the tracing.

 

 Here it is without the letters. Just look at any keyboard on the computer
and write in the letters in the correct order.

 Here is the finished product. 
Now grab a couple of fly swatters.
 They have cute flower shaped ones at the dollar store this time of year.

 Here is my daughter playing on it! I was just telling her letters and she had fun slapping them.

I created these bug cards.  The kids will pick a card and slap the letters to make the word
Click here to get your bug cards.

 I made letter cards for the beginning of the year.
 I also have all the Dolch Pre-primer words in the FREEBIE!
There is also a page of blank cards.

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 I make them push enter at the end.  You can put two next to each other and put kids on teams and turn into a race.  It's super fun!  They will love it!

FUN! FUN! FUN!

Unit 5 complete and FREEBIE spring sound boxes

I finally got my word work unit done for Unit 5.  We will be starting this soon and I have been working to find clip art that I love to complete it! I focus this unit on these words: make, play, she, all, no, he, said, good. Many activities are included that help kids focus on learning these words.  The pick and write students pick a word card and write it in blank spot on the page.  I also include pick and color to just color the words you pick. Here is the Read the Room page. This is in my work on writing center all year.  

 

 

 

  

Clip, trace, write

Students use the word card and clip the word on them with clothespins.  I write the letters on the clothespins and put one alphabet set in the box.  Students clip the word on the card, trace it in the middle box and then write in the last box.

 Here is the sight word color by word assessment sheet.

My kids love the scavenger hunts that I have created! They have to walk around the room and find the word and write the words on the recording sheet. 

 This unit I made something a little harder.  I created a word building sheet.  I focused on four words at a time.  I have students cut up the letter to build the words.

 The word cards for this unit.  I use these to flip through everyday at the beginning of guided reading groups.  I also make a set for the clip, trace, write.  I also make two sets for memory with each unit.

 Here are the cute word cards for pick and write!

 

Here is the link to my TPT store to grab your copy!
If you would like any of the activities with your words you study let me know. 

I can customize it for you. :)

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Lisa-Bohaty

 

 

I also created some new SpRiNg SoUnD BoXeS!  Head over to my Royal Freebies page!

 

 

Gingerbread freebie and Christmas lights

I have been working on a new literacy center/word work unit.  It has uppercase and lowercase Christmas lights.  Students use the picture mats to match the upper and lowercase letter to the picture under the tree.

 Students can use these same letters to string up the lights in ABC order. You can use upper or lowercase letters whichever fits your students needs. 

 Now you can wrap up the presents.  These 50 word mats use the letter presents to build the words.

 

Click on the title to go to my TPT store to pick up your own Christmas lights unit today.
Christmas lights literacy fun

 

Well in the spirit of the season we are reading all the different versions of the Gingerbread Man.  Today we read the The Gingerbread Baby.  I created this retelling page to help students retell the story.  First, mix the dough to make the gingerbread man.  Second, the gingerbread boy runs from all the animals. Then he goes into the gingerbread house that Mattie made for him. Lovely story with a great ending.  I have been working with my kids to retell using our retelling rope.  LOVE IT!! It is just a piece of fleece rolled up with four ribbons tied in it.  The students hold each part of the ribbon as they retell the story.  FUN!  It had helped students with comprehension and retelling!

Gingerbread Retelling

Gingerbread Sound boxes and other random thoughts

We have been working hard to learn and stretch out those important CVC words.  My kids are doing great at it.  We first count the sounds on our fingers then write them in the boxes.   I made these Gingerbread man sound boxes to use during the winter season. :)

click here for sound boxes

 Cup in a cup

A Great Classroom Management Tool
I have always done can of names.  It helps me call on everyone instead of just having that one dominate student answer every question.  I usually just pick a stick and throw it down.  Then I end up losing some and having to pick them up all the time. Well this summer I went to a conference and the speaker said she used a cup in a cup.  DUH!! That was a total Ah-Ha Moment!!  Well, I love it. I just move the stick out of the cup after I call on them and then move them all back when they are all out of the cup. 

A little Candyland fun!
I found a couple CandyLand games at Goodwill.  However, this time of year you can get them cheap. I picked up one on Black Friday for $4. I wrote all the word wall words that we learn throughout the year and students play like regular CandyLand but they have to read the words that they land on.  I have an ABC, sight words, and number board. 
A fun game students love to play and have fun learning!!



A closer look!










French Fries!
This is another favorite math center! 
I went to Burger King and asked for 20 French fry containers.  Then I cut up yellow sponges. Students count out the correct number of French fries to put in each container. My kids want to get them out during centers and serve them to each other! So cute! Thinkin I need to go get some more and write addition problems on them.


 

 

I had to add this cute picture from our Thanksgiving celebration!  We painted vests and made feather headbands.  Then made super yummy turkey snacks!

 

 

Build-a-Word

Build-a-word

I created this word work center.  I used unifix cubes and wrote a letter on each one with a black sharpie.  I write it on all sides of the cube.  Then students link them together to build words.  I have them color the words to match after they build them.  I created these pages to match our units.  If you would like different words to match your curriculum let me know I can make them for you.  :) Enjoy!

ABC Flip It!

 I created this fun literacy/word work center. Just print out the pancakes and lay them on the floor face down.  I told my students just to get 10 out at a time or they spend the whole time lay the pancakes out. :) Then the student takes a spatula and turns over a pancake into the frying pan.  They say the letter and sound and write it on the recording sheet.  I made two different recording sheets.  The first one you can laminate and use over and over. A good way to be green. Or have them use the black and white one to turn into you.  I make uppercase and lowercase pancakes.  I also made beginning sound picture pancakes.  And a recording sheet where they color the letter that begins with their picture after they flip it!  SO FUN!  The students beg to do this center.  Just get a spatula and small frying pan from dollar store and you have an easy center kids will LOVE!! 

To purchase this center for yourself.  Simply visit my TPT store at

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Lisa-Bohaty

 

Some of my favorites... word work edition

I decided to share some of my literacy center/ word work ideas.  In the beginning of the year we do some of these as literacy centers, then once we introduce Daily 5 these become word work.  It works nice because students understand expectations already and make a smooth transition.

 Playdoh words

 This a playdoh word building center.  This one that I made uses seasonal words but I also have one with all the word wall words we teach.  All you do it take your cookie cutter that you use and dip them in paint.  I used sentence strips but you could just use cardstock/ construction paper. Students use playdoh and cookie cutters to make the words and put them on top of the word strip. 

Clip, color, and write

This center is featured in all of my Journeys word work units  on TPT.  I make letter clothespins. I put uppercase on one side and lowercase on the other.  For students who need word cards, I let them clip to the word cards.  Students who are more advanced you can just give them a ruler or paint stick to clip their word on.  Then they color the word in the middle and write it in the last box.

Hammering letters

I just got this foam letter mat at Wal-mart or the dollar store. I can't remember now. I hot glued the pieces together.  Students take the letters out and hammer them in one at a time.  They LOVE it!!  It's a favorite and gets used everyday.

Bean words

I used little glasses.  They were actually tiny plastic shot glasses I bought at Dollar Tree. :) I made labels of all the words on the outside of the cup.  Then I wrote the letters on beans and students pour out the letters from the cups and build the word.  I keep the beans in the cup that they need to make the word to make it simpler and easier but you could just put a bunch of beans in a container with letters on them and have students find the letters to spell the words.  We often play in it small groups and use it as a race to see who can spell their word first.  I have them turn their cup over when they are done.  They can only win if they can read the word!! It's a fun way to practice sight words.

Magnetic words

Aren't these so cute!!  I love them! They are tiny magnets that I found once at Dollar General.  I not sure if you can find them anymore but any magnets would work.  Students build them in an Altoids container.  I have a recording sheet that students then have to color the word to match their magnets.  Again, these pages are in my Journeys Word Work Units on TPT.

Linking words

 I used letter cards and learning links.  I used the learning links from a teacher supply catalog.  I then just laminated my letter cards and put hole punches on the side of them so students can link them together.  I color code each of my units in our reading series so that I just put the words that they been introduced to.  I put all the words from that unit on a card so they can refer to it when they are building their words. It's another favorite of my students! 

Here are some of our favorite videos that we are singing and dancing to right now!!!

 

Hope you enjoy! Have a great day!

Lisa